Promised Reunion
by Mr. Thumbsup
Summary: Oneshot. It's been four years since Chihiro's journey into the Spirit World. When she decides to take a walk down the old dirt road, who will she meet? Chihiro x Haku


**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Spirited Away, **_**that would be Hayao Miyazaki**

**Hi, this is my first, and probably only, **_**Spirited Away**_** fic. I haven't actually seen this movie in years, but I'm gonna write this the best I can. **

**Partial credit of this goes to Arriku, an artist on Deviantart who did a fanpic. She's given me full permission to write this story based on it. I'll be including the link at the bottom of the page for anyone who's interested. Thanks, Arriku.**

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_Splish. Splish. Splish._

Chihiro stared down at the ripples extending from her feet as she walked. Her red umbrella was above her head, her hair tied back in a fashionable ponytail.

Chihiro loved the rain. Even better, she loved walking home in it. She felt like it washed away all the troubles of her day.

As she turned the corner, however, her happiness washed away as well. This was the part of the day she always hated.

Four years ago, she had taken a journey into the Spirit World, spending a few days working in a bathhouse. She still remembered everyone she had met there, from the good people like Lin, to the more twisted ones like Yubaba, to the somewhat stranger ones like No-Face.

And then there was Haku.

Or, more specifically, his name was Kohaku River. But everyone was still calling him Haku when she had left, so the name had stuck in her mind.

The thing was, the only reason she had gone to the Spirit World was because her father had taken a wrong turn when they were moving.

If one were leaving the entrance to the Spirit World, to get to Chihiro's house, they'd have to turn left. To get to her school, they'd have to turn right.

Meaning that every time Chihiro walked home from school, she had to walk past that road.

As she almost always did, Chihiro stopped at the entrance of the road and stared down it. In the distance she could see the stone tunnel. The stone faces that lined the road were now barely visible, overgrown by brush. What was left of the road itself had turned to mud from the still-pouring rain. In fact, the road was practically invisible unless you were looking for it.

Every day for the past four years, Chihiro had stopped here and stared down this road. She could almost feel the Spirit World, calling her from beyond the tunnel.

Chihiro glanced at the watch on her wrist, idly stared down the road.

"Oh, what the hell."

She began to walk down the muddy road.

She could hear the mud squelching beneath her shoes. She tried to concentrate on that to keep her mind off the question in her head.

_Why?_

She wasn't even sure what she was asking herself. Why am I going back down here? Why did I ever leave? Why didn't I do this sooner?

Why am I so sure he'll even remember me?

She stopped. The tunnel yawned before her.

Chihiro closed her umbrella, allowing the rain to fall on her previously dry clothes. Dropping the umbrella, she bent down, picked up a rock, and threw it into the tunnel as far as she could.

She heard it bounce once, twice.

Then, silence.

Chihiro knew it must've breached the Spirit World Barrier, otherwise she would have heard the thuds of it stopping.

Chihiro took a step forward, then stopped. She knew that, as much as she wanted to, she could never go back. She had her life here.

But there was her other life.

Chihiro placed a palm on the entrance to the tunnel. She rested her forehead on the wall. "Oh, Haku. I miss you so much."

"I've missed you too."

Gasping, faster than anything, Chihiro spun 'round, hardly daring to hope.

He sat there, not six feet in front of her, crouched on one of the stone heads. He was smiling warmly. He wore his old white robe, just as soaked as she was.

_Haku…_

Breathing loudly, she stared up at him, feeling hot tears trickle down her face, mixing with the rain. He hopped of the engraved head, standing before her fifteen-year-old body.

Chihiro extended an arm out, slowly, toward his face. "Is it… really you?"

Haku nodded. Her hand grasped his face, cupped a cheek. She felt the warmth of his flesh.

It wasn't a hallucination, or a dream. After four long years, he was standing before her.

Allowing the tears to come now, she collapsed forward into his arms. She felt Haku's strong arms wrap around her, holding her close.

The two stood there in the falling rain, together again.

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**Wow, I think this is one of the fluffiest fics I've ever written! Here's the link to the pic that inspired this story, in case you want to see it. Just delete the spaces.**

**http:// arriku . deviantart . com / art / Spirited – Away – Promise - 45644242**


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